Volume One: Odd Jobs in Changshui County Chapter Fifty-One: A Strange Encounter in the Mountain Cave

“Director Chen has vanished without a trace, as if he disappeared from the world.”
These were Zhou Cheng’s first words upon seeing Lu Jiuzhang.

“Could he have gone somewhere else?” Lu Jiuzhang asked.
After all, this wasn’t the only mountain in the area.

“I don’t think so,” Zhou Cheng shook his head. “I spoke with the clan chief. This mountain is peculiar; every so often, monsters appear here. I suspect there’s something odd about this back mountain.”
“The other peaks are much more ordinary. If Director Chen came, this would be the place. Yet, we’ve searched every corner and it’s as if he’s evaporated into thin air.”

Lu Jiuzhang nodded slowly, then pressed, “Are you sure you checked everywhere?”

“There’s one place left,” Zhou Cheng admitted, casting his gaze toward a cave halfway up the mountain. “The air inside is so thin that even a ninth-grade martial artist can’t last long. If there’s any possibility, Director Chen must have gone in there.”
“There must be something inside that cave which drew him in.”

The two of them had entered the cave previously, and had even been ambushed by that sorcerer.

Should they go in again?
Lu Jiuzhang glanced at Zhou Cheng, uncertain.

“Let’s go in and take a look first,” Zhou Cheng said. “If we really can’t continue, we’ll come back out.”

It didn’t take long for them to reach a consensus.

…

When they returned to the spot where they’d entered last time, bloodstains still marked the ground.

By now, the air had grown extremely thin.

Both Lu Jiuzhang and Zhou Cheng found their breathing rapidly growing labored.

They pressed forward, but after half a stick of incense’s time, stars danced before their eyes and their movements became sluggish.

Their legs felt as if they were weighed down with lead, each step a monumental effort.

Even these two, accomplished martial artists, were wavering.
For ordinary people, they would have turned back long before reaching this point.

Going further, even someone like Chen Xuanfeng would have struggled to go on in such suffocating air.

“Let’s try a bit more… huff…” Zhou Cheng’s voice was heavy.

All this way, they’d been careful to keep their breathing steady and to speak as little as possible.

Otherwise, progress would be impossible.

After another dozen yards or so, they came to a fork in the path.

“I’ll take the left, you go right,” said Lu Jiuzhang.

They would explore separately, and if neither succeeded, regroup.

Guard Mo had not come with them; since they were searching for someone, he remained at the foot of the mountain.
His duty was to protect Lu Jiuzhang’s life, not to act as his bodyguard.

Zhou Cheng nodded.

They parted ways, each following their chosen path.

At this point, Lu Jiuzhang felt as if he were hallucinating.

The further he walked, the lighter he felt.

No, it wasn’t an illusion—he truly was feeling lighter!

His legs grew stronger, no longer weighed down as before.
Breathing became easier as well.

Had he reached a spot with a vent or draft?

No, if there were a vent, the cave’s air would be well-circulated, and there wouldn’t be that stretch of near-suffocation.

So what caused this?

He wondered how Zhou Cheng was faring on the other path.

After a cup of tea’s time, Lu Jiuzhang was back to normal.

Before him lay a spacious cavern, at the center of which stood a tree with a trunk so thick it would take two men to embrace it.

The tree wasn’t tall, but its branches and leaves were lush.

Lu Jiuzhang sensed the spiritual energy in the air was especially rich here.

The conditions for cultivation were extraordinary!

If not for being in unfamiliar territory, he would have sat down on the spot to begin meditating.

What’s more, the tree bore several fruits.

Lu Jiuzhang counted—no more than five fruits in all.

For such a massive tree, only five fruits? It was strange.

But then, considering the tree had rooted itself so deep in the mountain cave, that it survived at all was remarkable.

He paced closer.

Just as he was about to examine one of the wild fruits, a strange hiss sounded by his ear.

In an instant, Lu Jiuzhang leapt back several steps.

The next moment, a black creature slithered out from among the leaves, fixing him with a deadly stare.

Its head was shaped like an inverted triangle, eyes wide and tongue flicking.

Lu Jiuzhang had never seen such a serpent—its body covered in black scales, exuding danger.

It hadn’t yet reached the realm of the initiated.

Lu Jiuzhang drew the saber at his waist, channeling his scholarly energy along the blade.

He had no special sword technique; he simply slashed and chopped as opportunity arose.

The black serpent was agile, dodging skillfully among the branches.

Yet, a creature not yet initiated was, in the end, just an ordinary beast.

Seizing an opening, Lu Jiuzhang killed the serpent with a single stroke.

Still wary that the tree might hide other strange and dangerous creatures, he circled the trunk cautiously.

By the faint candlelight, he discovered many animal bones scattered on the ground.

Beasts came here to hunt, their remains nourishing the great tree.

The serpent was probably the victor of some past skirmish; otherwise, it would not have survived so long.

Yet what puzzled Lu Jiuzhang was why the serpent lingered here.

Moreover, the creature’s strength was far beyond that of an ordinary person; in a few years, it might well have achieved initiation.

This time, Lu Jiuzhang had struck first. Had he waited until it advanced, the battle would not have been so easily won.

Inadvertently, he had resolved a potential threat for the people of Sanyi Manor below.

Once he was sure the area was safe, Lu Jiuzhang looked up at the towering tree, paying special attention to its fruit.

This ancient tree, growing here for so long, must have absorbed much spiritual energy.

Its fruits, then, were surely extraordinary.

He plucked one casually, wiped it with his sleeve, and popped it into his mouth.

At once, he gasped—the fruit was unripe, unbearably sour and tinged with bitterness.

Damn it!

He couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Fortunately, despite its bitterness, the fruit was suffused with spiritual energy.

As he digested it, that energy seeped into his body.

Lu Jiuzhang swiftly sat cross-legged on the ground, beginning his meditation.

In the depths of the mountain, time was meaningless. He had no idea how long had passed before he gradually emerged from his meditative state.

Unlike the pain of using medicinal herbs to temper the body, this fruit brought incredible comfort during cultivation.

His own advancement was remarkable—he felt as if he were standing on the threshold of the ninth martial stage.

There were still four fruits left; without hesitation, Lu Jiuzhang consumed them all, one by one, absorbing their pure spiritual power.

After the second fruit, he broke through to the ninth rank of martial cultivation.

Unlike his previous breakthrough in the scholarly path, which brought clarity and peace of mind, this martial breakthrough filled his limbs with vigor and strength, as if unshackling some hidden restraint.

He wasted nothing; the remaining three fruits were devoured, cementing his new realm.